For years, Louis Westerman and her husband, Thomas, have felt the lingering effects of Hurricane Ike. The devastating storm that rocked the Texas Gulf Coast in 2008 caused severe damage to her roof and exterior walls. Her home was a bitter reminder of Ike’s destruction. Thanks to a group of volunteers who participated in the Fifth Annual Seniors Helping Seniors project, Westerman said she finally has closure.

“Our house was in need of repair on the eaves because of Hurricane Ike,” Westerman said. “We couldn’t do the work ourselves because it was just too big a job for us. It was Pasadena Independent School District that did work on the eaves and put the shingles back on the house. Now Pasadena Memorial High School sent a bunch to paint and it is wonderful.”

Pasadena ISD partnered with Rebuilding Together Houston once again for the Seniors Helping Seniors initiative where high school seniors throughout the district roll up their sleeves and brave the blistering sun for home fix-up projects across Pasadena, South Houston and the South Belt area. Homes selected for the project belong to senior citizens who have no financial means or who lack the physical ability to paint, repair or do other types of labor.

“This is a great program for our community and for our kids,” Chad Cox, assistant principal at Sam Rayburn High School said. It’s good for our seniors because they have an opportunity to make an impact on someone who lives next door and give back to the community. That’s what Seniors Helping Seniors is all about.”

From painting the exterior walls, to repairing the eaves on the bottom edge of the roof these volunteers are making an impact not only on their college resumes, but also in the lives of homeowners.

And Westerman was one of the lucky ones.

“I have been here in this house for about 20 years with my husband,” Westerman said. “Hurricane Ike really did a number on my roof and these kids are doing all the work that we couldn’t. I am just so touched by the work they are doing.”

This year, about 1,000 seniors decided to lend a helping hand. In just a day, all of these high school seniors made a difference in these homeowner’s lives.

“I feel like they’ve given so much to our community so it feels good to give back to the people who have given so much to us,” Antonio Beltran of J. Frank Dobie High School said.